"George Lucas CGI 'Clone Wars' movie has premiered to reviews ranging from MSNBC's 'Ugly animation and an uninspired storyline drag down the film' to AintItCool's 'I hated the film. HATED IT. REALLY HATED IT.' Critics have noted the animation style, music and slapstick humor had more than a passing similarity to Pixar's Toy Story, and wondered if the introduction of new action figures (sorry, characters) like Baby Jabba Hutt and Jabba the Hutt's Gay Uncle may have taken the franchise a bridge too far. Lucas responding by enforcing an embargo, forcing the reviews to be taken down. While sites like AintItCool.com responded, by then it was just a little too late. Still, the CGI eye candy will make it popular with kids. If the 'Clone Wars' movie can't save the galaxy, can it at least save the franchise?"

But as we all know, the legions of fans will see it anyway, so what's the point?

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"All opinions posted are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled."

From what I've read, it was Warner Bros. who enforced the embargo, not Lucasfilm.

Has it or has it not? Via one of the links in the original article:

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Aintitcool.com reported earlier this week that it had pulled its review following requests from Warner Bros, in the process berating Empire (who give it a pretty decent write-up) and the Hollywood Reporter (not so good) for continuing to break the embargo. But I spoke to a PR on this side of the pond today, and they weren't aware of any ban on reviews.

Embargoes simply suggest to the clued-up reader that a particular film is rubbish, so I hope that Warner Bros and LucasFilm haven't gone down this route with regard to Clone Wars. Perhaps the thinking behind it is that the general public don't read sites like Aintitcool.com, or even this one. But by that logic it would stand to reason that many people considering a trip to see the film might not be the type to read reviews of the film beforehand in any case.

So...what exactly is going on?

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"All opinions posted are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled."

Frame of reference: I'm an unabashed Star Wars fanboy. I have a "Star Wars room" in my house. I have shelves full of Star Wars action figures and books. I have Darth Vader sitting on my monitor at work, and all of the Star Wars potato heads are staring at me as we speak. My license plate says STR WRS, with a "My other car is an X-wing" frame. My dog's name is Vader.

I have absolutely zero desire to see this movie. None. Not even a little tiny bit. The potential for cool was there (i.e. the Clone Wars cartoon series was awesome), but every single thing about this film just screams "epic fail".

From what I've read, it was Warner Bros. who enforced the embargo, not Lucasfilm.

Has it or has it not? Via one of the links in the original article:

Generally most films have embargoes on reviews. That's not necessarilly just to suppress and bad word of mouth (though it certainly helps for that). It's more of a way of managing PR roll-out (similar to videogame review embargoes) so you can have the reviews hitting almost at once in close proximity before the film comes out (typically a few days to a week) instead of three or more weeks which is when screenings often start. But there is an unwritten rule in a lot of cases that if the review is sufficiently good then they can ignore the embargo since the studio isn't likely to complain about good reviews.

So embargo enforcement is inconsistent, to put it mildly. The issues happening with The Clone Wars aren't unique at all but since it's Star Wars it's gotten the attention of the geek community in a way that most embargo controversies never do.

Movie blogger David Poland discusses the AICN/Clone Wars flap a bit here and review embargoes and when the studios look the other way and when they don't has been a frequent topic at his blog for years.

I was surprised that I was actually debating going to see this. What ultimately decided "no" in my head was Yoda's voice in the trailer. It was either a bad impression or Frank Oz's voice went kaput. Either way, the distraction was so bad that no matter how good the rest of the show, I'd not be able to get into the movie.

Those saying they're NOT going to see this movie sound like the alcoholic with a bad hangover claiming that they're done drinking. Everyone knows that the best cure for a hangover is more alcohol. Maybe this next time won't be so bad...

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That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.

Those saying they're NOT going to see this movie sound like the alcoholic with a bad hangover claiming that they're done drinking. Everyone knows that the best cure for a hangover is more alcohol. Maybe this next time won't be so bad...

I'm sure I'll eventually catch in on PPV, but there's no way I'm dropping money for it in the theater. Hell, I haven't even been able to get to The Dark Knight yet!

People keep forgetting that this movie is kicking off a syndicated TV series that will continue the story, characters, and art style. As of last September they had already produced 39 of 100 planned episodes.

There's a lot more riding on this film than how it does in theatres.

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Roger: And you should know, I have no genitals.Syndey: That's alright. I have both.

People keep forgetting that this movie is kicking off a syndicated TV series that will continue the story, characters, and art style. As of last September they had already produced 39 of 100 planned episodes.

There's a lot more riding on this film than how it does in theatres.

i would actually say that the television show has a great deal riding on how well this does in the theaters.

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Warning: You will see my penis. -Brian

Just remember: once a user figures out gluten noting them they're allowed to make fun of you. - Ceekay speaking in tongues.

I have absolutely zero desire to see this movie. None. Not even a little tiny bit. The potential for cool was there (i.e. the Clone Wars cartoon series was awesome), but every single thing about this film just screams "epic fail".

a big +1 to everything you said. if LF felt it necessary to add a baby jabba to add some kiddie appeal, then i really have no desire to see this. the preview i saw last even had a clip of it and was the beginning of the end for me. no way i'll even bother; i have better movies to go see instead. a gay jabba in the movie is probably the last thing anyone wanted to see and is not something i ever expected to write about for that matter. they must be out of their FN minds.

shame really as i liked the original animated cartoon and have them on dvd. i'll go watch that instead.

I have only seen the trailer, but I love the animation style in what I saw. I refuse to spoil anything for myself on it, though, to try to see why everyone hates it so much. Can anyone sum up why it sucks without spoiling it?

By the way, I have no issues with a baby or gay Jabba, or even a gay baby Jabba.

By the way, I have no issues with a baby or gay Jabba, or even a gay baby Jabba.

MESA SO HAPPY YOUSA SAYING THAT!

I had no problem with him, either.

Although I did like him better when he was trying to get br'er rabbit to attack the tar baby....

Yes, George Lucas hates black people.

whoa, let's not get crazy! George DID create Lando Calrissian and cast Billy Dee Williams (who I will refer to as "Mr. Suave" from this point forward) in the role. I suspect George might actually have a little soul in his bloodline that enabled him to understand just how goddamn cool Mr. Suave really is...

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Warning: You will see my penis. -Brian

Just remember: once a user figures out gluten noting them they're allowed to make fun of you. - Ceekay speaking in tongues.

By the way, I have no issues with a baby or gay Jabba, or even a gay baby Jabba.

MESA SO HAPPY YOUSA SAYING THAT!

I had no problem with him, either.

Although I did like him better when he was trying to get br'er rabbit to attack the tar baby....

Yes, George Lucas hates black people.

whoa, let's not get crazy! George DID create Lando Calrissian and cast Billy Dee Williams (who I will refer to as "Mr. Suave" from this point forward) in the role. I suspect George might actually have a little soul in his bloodline that enabled him to understand just how goddamn cool Mr. Suave really is...

By the way, I have no issues with a baby or gay Jabba, or even a gay baby Jabba.

MESA SO HAPPY YOUSA SAYING THAT!

I had no problem with him, either.

Although I did like him better when he was trying to get br'er rabbit to attack the tar baby....

Yes, George Lucas hates black people.

whoa, let's not get crazy! George DID create Lando Calrissian and cast Billy Dee Williams (who I will refer to as "Mr. Suave" from this point forward) in the role. I suspect George might actually have a little soul in his bloodline that enabled him to understand just how goddamn cool Mr. Suave really is...

By the way, I have no issues with a baby or gay Jabba, or even a gay baby Jabba.

MESA SO HAPPY YOUSA SAYING THAT!

I had no problem with him, either.

Although I did like him better when he was trying to get br'er rabbit to attack the tar baby....

Yes, George Lucas hates black people.

whoa, let's not get crazy! George DID create Lando Calrissian and cast Billy Dee Williams (who I will refer to as "Mr. Suave" from this point forward) in the role. I suspect George might actually have a little soul in his bloodline that enabled him to understand just how goddamn cool Mr. Suave really is...

Yes, but notice Lando was a criminal.

damn!

lucas you racist son of a ...

I always wandered why the stormtroopers looked like klan members of the future!

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Warning: You will see my penis. -Brian

Just remember: once a user figures out gluten noting them they're allowed to make fun of you. - Ceekay speaking in tongues.

Can hutts even be gay? Or straight? And now that I think about it, why would a giant wormanoid get his rocks off by putting human chicks in gold bikinis?

I'm too scared to Google "Hutt sexuality" to research this one out on my own.

I'm not...so I came up with this click here to read. I didn't realize the uncle's name was Zero the Hutt. LOL. Anyways, according to the article, slugs (like Jabba and Zero) can be male or female depending on the situation, personality or whatever. So he's not necessarily gay....just openly free to decide

I remember reading some interviews with Gary Kurtz and Howard Kazanjian who served as producers or executive producers on much of Lucas's most beloved work (i.e. up through about Return of the Jedi). I get the impression some of the reason those earlier movies are so much better (their opinion anyway) than his later stuff is because he had producers who weren't "yes-men." They'd talk and fight and disagree over what would make the movie better, and Lucas wasn't yet in a position to steamroller the opinions of everyone around him. That seems to be true even with Indy 4 -- we'll never know if the Indy 4 that Spielberg and Frank Darabont wanted to do was something a little smarter than what George L. insisted on, because He Always Gets His Way.

I'm sure he's much happier now, and would never want to go back to working with people who might disagree with his take on things.

To me the saddest thing about the 64 year old Georgie is that in interviews he drips arrogance and general disdain for both critics, and for fans. I mean, if he has so little use for critics, why does he even care that they're posting nasty reviews early?

plus, let's face it: george isn't a very good screenwriter. i'd go so far as to say he's really pretty awful. the 1st star wars was his best effort. the two sequels immediately following that had the advantage of Lawrence Kasdan (as did the first Indy film). his script for the empire strikes back, for example, was stellar and that's why it's my favorite in the series.

« Last Edit: August 13, 2008, 09:22:05 PM by hepcat »

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Warning: You will see my penis. -Brian

Just remember: once a user figures out gluten noting them they're allowed to make fun of you. - Ceekay speaking in tongues.

I enjoyed that article, even though Lucas has become something of an easy target. In particular, this paragraph should be required reading for Internet nerds:

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Similarly, the "Star Wars" space opera consistently demonstrated Lucas's limitations as a storyteller, even as it tapped into the mass audience's most fundamental hunger for archetype and myth. As refreshing as the initial 1977 installment was -- an escapist, retro thrill ride in the midst of a grittily realist era -- the "Star Wars" movies were more about plot than story, with Lucas far more interested in mechanics, spectacle and marketing than capturing the beat of the human heart. (Although the difference between plot and story may seem arcane, it's quite crucial: The plot is merely a sequence of events, whereas a story limns those events' deeper motivation and meaning. The plot gets characters from point A to point B; the story makes us care.)

I really despise reading about gamers talking about story. I especially dislike reading about gamers talk about serialized dramas on TV (not so much here, but some of the TV threads on QT3 are just terrible). People who have grown up on Star Wars, games and summer blockbusters no longer understand what makes for good drama. They are so literal minded that they think having a plot twist that they don't see coming is the pinnacle of drama. It may make the writers clever, but it doesn't necessarily make them good.

You can see this especially in threads about shows like BSG or Lost. Fans explode in anger any time an episode focuses on a character instead of driving the plot forward in some sort of Bataan death march to its inevitable conclusion. I'm not saying that shows like these don't drag or lose their way (BSG, in particular, is a complete mess), but gamers seem to think they're playing some sort of cat-and-mouse game with the writers trying to guess where they're going next, while at the same time complaining that the missiles in episode 26 don't behave the same way that they did in episode 12.